


The Tale of Cloelia

by DaisyNinjaGirl



Series: The Tenner [4]
Category: Ancient Roman Religion & Lore
Genre: Gen, The Tenner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24652144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaisyNinjaGirl/pseuds/DaisyNinjaGirl
Summary: Day Two - Sacrifice...at the end of it all, Rome lost the siege and, as many do when it matters, the sacrifice they chose to buy peace was their young.
Series: The Tenner [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680610
Collections: The Tenner





	The Tale of Cloelia

_“You are all telling stories of great cities and battles, so I shall tell one,” Edward Farthing said, holding a late rose between his fingers._

**The Tale of Cloelia**

A long time ago when the great city of Rome laid claim to its seven hills and no more, their neighbours to the north, from the Po Valley and such like, laid siege to the city. The Romans like to remember this story for the sacrifice of its soldiers, of Horatius who held a bridge long enough for it to be destroyed, of Gaius Mucius who, on failing to assassinate the enemy general, stuck his hand in the fire to prove he was no coward. But at the end of it all, Rome lost the siege and, as many do when it matters, the sacrifice they chose to buy peace was their young: young girls, young boys, their lives ahead of them, a gift to Porsena the victor.

One of these girls, Cloelia, had no taste for a life of slavery in the Etruscan lands. She was clever and quick and brave, she stole a horse and herself, and led forty young virgins from the camps of the Etruscans and thence to the river Tiber where they swam across in the dark of night.

This was no good of course. When she snuck into the home of her mother, the old woman wept, and insisted that the girl stay silent and hidden that she might not be seized again. They sat in the dark and spoke in whispers, the goodbyes that they had not had time to say in the bright day, stories and tales of Cloelia’s childhood. In the morning they were discovered and the city fathers dragged Cloelia and the other girls out to the city gates where Porsena waited for his tribute to be returned. Not all sacrifices are willing, as we all know.

_Edward plucked a petal from the rose and held it on his palm._

But the triumphant part of the story is this: Porsena the Etruscan general was so impressed by the bravery of the girl he now owned that he told her she might choose half the hostages to be returned to the city of Rome. It is said that Cloelia chose the young men to be returned, so that they could continue the defence of Rome. Not all sacrifices are willing, but sometimes they are accepted. _He blew the petal from his hand._ The city father’s erected a statue of the girl, mounted on a horse, giving her the honours of a knight. Of the young men she saved, nothing more is known. Probably they died.

_“What happened to Cloelia after?” a voice asked from the listeners._

_Edward shrugged with disinterest. “They don’t say.”_


End file.
